Time after Grossinger's

Last night after American Idol (my good friend FD wants me to do a parody show called American Ethel, in which all the contestants have to imitate Merman singing all these contemporary pop songs...he swears it can be fixed and I can win, but I am leery), I finally got to editing and writing the script for the upcoming backer's audition of Saturday Night at Grossinger's. It was a very good thing to do, not just because I really HAVE to do it, but because having to write concise narration for scenes that we are not playing made me make sense of the end of the show in a way that didn't make enough sense in the real playing script. This has led me to think about how I might rewrite it and say what I really want to say. The ending is tough. It's fake in a way to have Jennie come to the realization that her family should come first. The real Jennie Grossinger was a business woman and a star first. The family came last. But I want to say more than what it says. I want her father to make her realize that she somehow needs to incorporate her family, her marriage and her children in her career. To be more fulfilled. It's hard. But I feel like saying what I want to say in narration might bring me closer to what I want to say in the show itself and that I might be on to something more interesting. Today I printed the script for Time after Time and did a little rewrite on the very opening of the show. Sending it off to a director who expressed great interest and loves the songs on the CD. And the good news is that Jeff wants me to come out to Ohio for a few days and work on the show. That's great for him that he feels he can work at all after what he has been through. But work is the great cure-all and he needs to write music. The book is in suprisingly good shape and reads very well. I don't really know what I want to do to it, but I know I want every song to be as good as the very best ones are. There are a few that are not there yet. And I want John to have better material (John being Jack the Ripper) HG and Amy have the best stuff now. Picked up the pics from Monday night's big Kander and Ebb Evening and they are fabulous. I will try to post the group shot on here for anyone who is reading this to see.